TABLE OF CONTENTS Now that you understand some of the limitations and challenges in sniffing wireless networks, you can apply some recommendations to achieve the best fidelity in wireless packet captures:
Locate the Capture Station Near the Source When initiating a packet capture, locate the capture station close to the source of the wireless activity you are interested in (i.e., an AP or a wireless station).
Disable Other Nearby Transmitters If you are using an external wireless card (such as a PC-Card) for sniffing traffic, and you have a built-in card in your laptop, it is common to experience lost traffic on the sniffing card due to interference from the built-in card. To eliminate this factor and achieve a more accurate packet capture, disable any built-in wireless transmitters on the capture station during the packet capture, including Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 interfaces and Bluetooth devices.
Reduce CPU Utilization While Capturing If your host experiences excessive CPU utilization during a packet capture, you may experience packet loss in the wireless capture (e.g., it is not a good idea to burn a DVD while capturing wireless traffic). To prevent packet loss, try to reduce your CPU utilization when capturing traffic with any sniffer software.
Match Channel Selection If you take a comprehensive packet capture of a wireless network, make sure your wireless card is sniffing on the same channel as the target network. If you are channel hopping during a...
